Greetings, Alhough, this is my first post to this forum, I have been lurking and learning here for several months. I must say, I have also enjoyed the friendly banter and respectful debates. I am an Anglican Deacon considering attending the University of London external programme to finish my theological degree. Due to the excellent reviews of South African Theological Seminary, this school is also worthy of my consideration. One concern I have is the length of time needed for completion for the U of L degree. In the academic guidance section for the BD degree I quote, "In any one year, students may sit the examinations for a maximum of four units." I was hoping to complete the program in about a year due time spent at the Reformed Episcopal Seminary and the positive comments given by Tom Head here Worse comes to worst, I think you might have a chance at getting accepted in the University of London's Bachelor of Divinity program (http://www.lon.ac.uk/ external), which is very inexpensive and can be done in about a year through examinations taken at Sylvan Learning Centers nationwide. A good thing is one can apply for exemption from up four units. The application is due by Sept. 17, and I thank you all in advance for any helpful comments and or suggestions. University of London external programme South African Theological Seminary here
A few questions which will make a difference: 1. Who is your bishop? What does he (or she) require? Your jurisdiction will have specific expectations. 2. You spent time at RE -- how much credit did you actually earn? They are only an associate ATS school (that is, in the early process of applying for accreditation but are NOT currently accredited by ATS). That may, or may not affect how many units can be transferred or recognized. I don't think that the U of L will give any kind of advanced standing for previous work. SATS is more flexible. There are other English and Australian institutions which have Anglican focused degrees -- some of which can be done from a distance (even though they are not advertised as distance degrees).
University of London BD Hi Whitworth, For the BD you'd take 10 units - usually this would be done over three years. You may be able to get advanced standing depending on the work you've already done. This may lead to you not needing to take all 10 of the units. We call this exemption. You can apply for exemption from up to four units. To be eligible you must satisfy us that you have already passed examinations that equate in level, content and standard to the subject(s) that form part of your proposed University of London degree. There is further information about exemption on our website. Note that in the case of the BD all exemptions are discretionary. As you pay for us to consider your exemption application we always advise that before applying you ensure that you are confident that whatever examinations you have taken will equate in level, content and standard to the units for which you will apply for exemption. Otherwise you could just be wasting your money. My guess is that if we do provide exemption the BD will take you at least a further two years, based on you taking three or four units per year, - i.e. if you apply now and pass all of your exams the earliest you'd be taking your last exam is May'08. If you have any questions about the programme please feel free to email our information centre on [email protected]. Hope this helps, Brendan http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk
Brendan, Thank you for your quick reply. I will start this week gathering the necessary documentation and previous transcripts so I can make application. John
If I was Anglican, I think I would choose to enroll here: https://www.trinitycollege.vic.edu.au/theologyonline/ In fact, I am not Anglican, but might still end up doing some further work through this school. One ends up with a degree of the Melbourne College of Divinity, which is a highly respect-worthy credential.
